Private Eyes
by Shunkaku Bu
Summary: A Rogue-Wolverine song fic that just wanted to be written.


**I see you**

**You see me**

It wasn't the first time he had caught him watching her, silent and a little bit feral. but this time it was different. He didn't look away or move to leave when her green eyes met his. "Hey," she said stupidly.

"Hey, yourself." Logan shifted so that he was standing at his full height. "What're you doin' out here so late?"

"Gettin' some fresh air. You couldn't sleep?"

"Didn't want to." He wasn't about to tell her that he had caught her scent in the hallway and just followed her. Even now Logan could tell that before she had been crying. "You alright?"

"Yeah." _Oh, like that didn't sound like a lie._ She shook her head. "No, not really. Ah was thinkin' about traveling again, but..."

**Watch you blowin' the lines**

**When you're making a scene**

She could feel the blush heat her face._ Oh, just get on with it; quick like a bandage. _"Ah just wanted to let you know before ah left...it'll probably be in a couple of weeks, so..."

"Are you sure about that? There's a lot of weirdos out there." She tried hard to stifle a smile at that moment as they were sharing the same thought. "You have any other plans on how to travel?"

"No." _Fuck, fuck, fuck._ "Ah guess ah haven't thought this through too much...but ah can manage."

"Marie..." She flinched a little at the sound of her name. "What's really bothering you?"

**Oh girl, you've got to know**

**What my head overlooks**

**The senses will show to my heart**

_Friends, school, people, life in general._ "It's nothing, really. Ah just don't feel like things are gonna get any better if ah stay here. So," she ended.

"If it's nothing, then you can tell me. You know I can tell."

_This is worse than dealing with telepaths._ "Fine, ah'm sick of it here. My 'friends' that are scared the hell outta me, not fitting in with anyone, hearing everyone complain about petty little things and having to try to act like ah give a damn about it when-" She stopped suddenly and looked away from him. _What was ah thinking? Ah wasn't...not logically anyway._ "Ah just wanna be allowed to not care about this normal bullshit."

"This place is anything but normal."

"It's still high school for me and there's no clique I can belong to."

Logan moved over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. _How can I say this?_ "Marie, if you didn't want to talk to me, you wouldn't have walked by my room."

**When it's watching for lies**

**You can't escape my**

**Private Eyes**

She tensed at his touch, his truthful words, because it was so clear to him. Rogue would go out of her way to be around the other students, but none of them would do the same for her. _Honestly Logan, ah can't stand being alone in a crowd anymore._ "Ah thought you'd be asleep. Ah sometimes just sit and listen because ah have nightmares."

"But not tonight."

"Nope. You don't seem to have been havin' many lately." _I envy that so much, even to the point that ah don't remember...anything._ She sighed.

"And yours are worse?"

"Yeah...the longer ah sleep, the more likely ah am to wake the other girls up with my screaming."

Logan put his arms around her waist and she leaned back against him. "Just what happened to you?" The girl shook her head gently. "I'm sorry if its my memories that are causing you problems."

She laughed ruefully. "The worst ones aren't yours..." _Ah don't ever wanna talk about the things that ah've seen through Magneto's eyes._ "Ah just feel so tired after those nightmares. Nothing seems to make them better."

"Have you tried talking to the professor about it?"

She turned and looked at him. "He tried to help...but ah apparently block too much." Her brows knitted when he started to laugh. "It's not funny!"

"Probably the most powerful telepath in the world can't get into your mind and you don't see the humor in that?" Then he saw the hurt in her eyes and took her hands. "I'm sorry, Marie."

She shook her head. "Ah have to go."

"Not yet." He pulled her over to a bench so they could talk more and she would be less likely to leave. They sat quietly for awhile, Logan looking at Marie while she stared at the clear night sky.

**They're watching you**

**They see your every move**

**Private Eyes**

**They're watching you**

**Private Eyes**

**They're watching you, watching you, watching you, watching you**

"Even here, ah'm not normal."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Normal is overrated, even here. You've gone through more than any of these kids and a lot of adults will in their lifetime, all without falling apart. I've seen less destroy people."

"Maybe ah need that."

"It won't happen."

_How are you so sure?_ She looked at him with her piercing emerald eyes. "It worked for you...or is that something you can't remember?"

**You play with words, you play with love**

**You can twist it around baby that ain't enough**

**'Cause girl I'm gonna know **

**If you're letting me in or letting me go**

"What are you talking about?" he was truly surprised that she would know something like that.

"You talk in your sleep...well, mostly you grunt and grumble, but you were crushed when you lost someone."

"I don't remember...Marie?"

"You kept saying that you would always feel like that story...Coacuatchoo, but you would always say it wrong and it took me forever to find out what the real story was. Coacuatchoo was in love with the Moon, but a trickster wanted to keep them apart. He tricked Coacuatchoo to gather flowers from the Earth for her, but once a spirit goes to Earth it can't return."

_I don't remember...but it seems familiar._ "What does it mean?"

"Coacuatchoo means wolverine." She returned her gaze to the moon._ Ah want to be someone's moon...not the foolish spirit who will never be able to regain what's lost. Stupid story, stupid girl._ Then she felt his breath blowing through her hair and onto her throat. "Logan?"

His voice was a low sound against her skin, but pleasant just the same. "You're the only one who would look into it." As he tried to speak again he groped for her hand. Once her gloved fingers were intertwined with his, he asked, "Is that all you know?"

"No. It only comes it bits and pieces. Ah think ah'll remember more if ah go there. Then ah can-"

"Are you packed?"

She jerked away from him at the strange question. "What do you..."

"It's your mind, my memories...if you find something awful-"

"Ah can handle it." She stood up suddenly, turning away from him. "Then ah can come back."

"No." Logan grabbed her around the waist, locking his arms in place so she couldn't move. "Marie, you're not doing this alone. I need to know as much as you do, so we do it together."

"When?" There was a weariness in her voice that made him tense.

"Tomorrow night...get some rest." He let her go and watched her walk away. Then she hesitated and looked back.

"You'd better not leave me behind." As Marie walked away she thought, _And I'll try and find the Moon._

**Don't lie when you're hurting inside**

**'Cause you can't escape my**

**Private Eyes**

They left after everyone was asleep, heading to Three Mile Island. He felt a tug in his head when he heard the name of the place. "What do you remember?" he finally asked to break a two hour stretch of silence.

"Not much...ah know that it wasn't a good place. Ah actually think that Scott was there."

"Really?" He snorted. "Maybe that's why I blocked it out."

"Maybe." She rubbed her temples and squeezed eyes shut. He had noticed her doing this more over the last few months. "No, you didn't even talk."

"It was a joke."

"Ah was just makin' sure."

When she started to rub her temples again he asked, "You have a headache?"

"No...it takes a little bit, but when ah'm awake ah can sorta...pigeon-hole the memories ah've absorbed."

_She is amazing and she doesn't even know it._ "How long?"

Marie shook her head. "Ah don't know...a couple of weeks ah think. It just happened one day and when ah noticed ah tried to figure out how to do it consciously."

"Tell me something, darlin'."

"What?" she asked softly.

_Why don't you see that good in yourself?_ "Why do you let everyone else tell you what's right for you?"

"Ah just want-" She cut herself off, a faint blush creeping up her pale cheeks. _Ah just want someone to care._ "We're getting close."

"Marie..."

"We came here for answers, not questions," she quickly stated. Then she closed her eyes. _Quit putting your foot in your mouth, girl._

**They're watching you**

**They see your every move**

**Private Eyes**

**They're watching you**

**Private Eyes**

**They're watching you, watching you, watching you, watching you**

She was sitting on a huge chunk of concrete, leaving disturbing red marks where she had been pressing her fingers. Logan had watched her do this for the better part of half an hour and was about to make her stop when she gasped. "What is it?"

"Sh." Marie got up and walked into the wreckage that was still about. He followed, staying as far behind her as he could while keeping her in his sight. Her breath was coming hard and fast, which worried him her heart rate was climbing to the same amount. She halted abruptly, frozen for a second, and then crashed to the ground with a sickening sound.

"Marie!" At first there was no sound, no faint movement from her, but when he drew near her she turned on her side. Marie retched. "Darlin', it's alright." He rubbed her back until she pushed herself up. "Can you stand?" He helped her up and led her back to the car. _What did you see?_

"We have to go to Canada," she stated weakly. _It has to end where it started._

"Are you sure your up to that?"

"Yeah...ah'll mark the way on the map." He shut the door so she could lean against it as she marked the trail. When he got in she handed him the map.

"We'll go tomorrow."

"No."

_That bad, huh?_ "Fine, get some rest. You'll have to drive for a while."

"Ah know."

He didn't wake her up until she started to murmur in her sleep, foreign words that meant nothing to him, and digging her fingers into her forearm. He let her take the wheel, but didn't sleep for more than thirty minutes. Marie stopped less than an hour from their destination. "Are we there?"

"Almost...ah just needed to-"

"Yeah." Logan waited for her to return in the driver's seat and was more than a little surprised to see her with groceries. "What is that for?"

"Ah don't think we'll wanna come back after this drive," she said. "Just trust me, okay?"

"Sure." He put the car in drive and they were off.

**Why you try to put up a front for me**

**I'm a spy but on your side you see**

**Slip on, into any disguise**

**I'll still know you**

**look into my Private Eyes **

He felt nothing when they stepped into the empty cabin, but Marie obviously felt something. "Darlin', are you alright?"

"Yeah..." After moving through the house, she returned to the living room. "Sit down. It's gonna be a long story." She spoke for nearly three hours and he just listened. Things began to click into place for him and the memories came back in full force. Marie stopped when she saw what was happening. "Logan?"

"It's alright, Marie..."

"No, it's not. This is just one more thing that someone's kept from you just to keep up the status quo and just-" She let out a frustrated sound as she stood up.

"You shouldn't have had to see any of that." Logan got up and put an arm around her waist. "I'm sorry I had to drag you into this."

"It wasn't your fault, ah was the one who-"

"Only once. It was me the other time, when you got more than just a touch." She began to cry. "Darlin', don't ever blame yourself." Marie nodded, unable to answer any other way. Logan lifted her up and carried her to the bed. When she started to protest, he stated, "You need to rest...I know this isn't easy, but there's nothing that can change what happened here."

Knowing it would do no good to protest, Marie closed her eyes. She hoped, for the first time ever, that she would relive Magneto's tragic childhood and not further delve into Logan's past.

**They're watching you**

**They see your every move**

**Private Eyes**

**They're watching you**

**Private Eyes**

**They're watching you, watching you, watching you, watching you**

He sat in a chair and watched her sleep. Occasionally she would make a small sound, but his hand on hers would cause it to stop. As the memories danced in his head, Logan thought of a memory that was much more recent. _It takes a little bit, but when ah'm awake ah can sorta...pigeon-hole the memories ah've absorbed._ "Marie?" he said as he gently shook her shoulder.

"Logan? Ah was...what is it?"

"I need you to try something for me."

"Okay," she said sleepily.

Logan sat on the bed next to her, looking into her hazy green eyes. "I want you to remember how it felt when you touched me that night, when you fought for your life. Concentrate on the pull-"

"No."

"Marie...please. Feel that pull again in your head."

She shook her head, saying, "Ah don't like the way-"

"Take that feeling and pigeon-hole it like you did before."

"Ah can't! It's not the same, ah-" Her voice and body hitched, then her eyes widened and met with his. "Logan?"

He leaned down and kissed her. It started soft and gentle, but grew into deeper, more frantic kiss. When Logan pulled away it was only to catch his breath. "You can control it."

"Thanks to you."

He smiled, but shook his head. "You said it yourself...I just made you realize you could do it."

"Ah wonder how long it will take to master it."

"We have time, darlin'."

She smiled. _We have time, not the words of a loner._ "Then we'll find out."


End file.
